ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
This article is part of the Research TopicFocus on Physical Activity and Healthy AgingView all 4 articles
The Dynamic Relationship Between Physical Activity and Psychological Well-being in Chinese Older Adults: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zunyi Medical University - Zhuhai Campus, Zhuhai, China
- 2Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities, Duyun, China
- 3Mianyang Normal University, Mianyang, China
- 4Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: With the ongoing deepening of population aging in China, the psychological well-being of elderly people has become an important indicator for measuring social health development. Physical activity, as an interventionable health behavior, has a complex relationship with psychological well-being. However, the dynamic interaction mechanisms between the two have not been systematically revealed. Methods: This study employed a longitudinal design, tracking 967 elderly individuals from Guiyang and Duyun in Guizhou Province and Nanchang in Jiangxi Province between February and April 2024 (T1) and February and April 2025 (T2). Using cross-lagged panel network analysis (CLPN), which integrates both cross-sectional and longitudinal network models, we examined the temporal predictive relationships between physical activity and the multidimensional aspects of psychological well-being. Results: (1) The network connection density between physical activity and psychological well-being increased from 56.84% at T1 to 60.00% at T2, indicating a continuous enhancement of system associations; (2) The cross-sectional network revealed that the core association shifted from "personal growth - openness" (r=0.488) to "autonomous value - self-assurance" (r=0.393); (3) The cross-lagged network demonstrated that physical activity has a predictive effect on psychological well-being, with the frequency of exercise significantly predicting autonomous values (β=0.166); (4) "Meaning in life" plays both a driving and bridging role in the system and is a key target for interventions. Conclusion: Physical activity and psychological well-being in elderly individuals constitute a dynamic, bidirectional promoting system, with the path of influence evolving in stages from social support to personal growth. The findings provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for developing staged and precise health promotion programs for the elderly.
Keywords: Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis, Elderly, longitudinal study, physical activity, psychological well-being
Received: 30 Oct 2025; Accepted: 11 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xiang, Gou, Yang and Hu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Luyao Xiang
Jing Yang
Chang Hu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.